Federal government to demolish portions of Apapa Port terminals for usual gauge rail

In line with the choice of the Federal Government to attach the continued Lagos-Ibadan usual gauge line to Apapa Port in Lagos, many terminals within the port are expected to be in part demolished, Daily Trust learnt on Friday.

This is just because the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi showed that he would quickly make a request to the Federal Executive Council (FEC) for the expected contract overrun.

The venture being undertaken via the China Civil Engineering and Construction Company (CCECC) was once awarded at a sum of $1.5bn to hide Lagos to Ibadan with extension to Apapa Port.

But many unforseen demanding situations have cropped up particularly at the Lagos axis that have made the cost overrun inevitable amongst them is the relocation of oil and fuel pipeline.

Also, the Apapa Port rail sidings which might attach the usual gauge to all of the port terminals have been estimated at 2.four kilometers within the unique contract but it surely has been came upon that the period of the sidings is now at about 6.4km.

Amaechi the day past held an emergency Project Steering Committee assembly on the CCECC backyard throughout the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) headquarters with the NRC Managing Director, Engr. Fidet Okhiria, his counterpart within the Nigerian Port Authority (NPA), Hadiza Bala Usman, amongst different stakeholders in attendance.

After the assembly which lasted about one hour, the team paid an inspection talk over with to Apapa Port terminals to establish spaces which would possibly give manner for the seamless connection of the rail line to all of the terminals.

Some of the terminals to be affected are APMT, the biggest terminal within the port; ENL Consortium Terminal, amongst others.

Amaechi who spoke with newsmen on the port mentioned he had given two weeks to the technical team to resolve portions of the warehouses throughout the terminals which might give manner for the rail to come back in.

He confident that this might be achieved in such away that the port operations would no longer be disrupted.

“The port services would be on. There are areas where they need to work. What is important is that we must get the rail into the port to ease the congestion that we are having currently. We give them two weeks to do their work”, he mentioned.

Also talking the NPA MD defined that there are spaces the place government would take over “for overriding public interest.”

However, she confident that vital repayment can be paid to terminal operators whose warehouses can be in part demolished.

Usman reiterated that the vital rehabilitation can be performed on the key aspects the place ships most often berth to increase their weight and capability to house the usual gauge rail.

She mentioned, “We are going to have some other assembly in a fortnight the place we will be able to resolve the increase in scope that the venture could have in view of this talk over with as a result of this talk over with has expanded the scope to be sure that as an example we’re going to quilt GNLD terminal, we’re going to have a look at increasing to Eko Support, we also are going to take a look at offering direct key aspect and siding for PTML, that’s Flour Mill.

“All these aspects need to be computed and the number to be presented to the Hon. Minister and in turn he would make the necessary request for approval to the Federal Government.”